Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Mauritania, you would:
Health
be 66.0% less likely to be obese
In Mauritania, 24.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 8.2% of people as of 2024.
be 14.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Mauritania, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 1.4% of people as of 2024.
live 6.7 years less
In Mauritania, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024.
see 47.3% less spent on your healthcare
Mauritania spends $302 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sierra Leone spends $159 as of 2023.
have 48.7% fewer doctors per person
Mauritania has 2.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sierra Leone has 1.3 as of 2022.
be 2.3 times more likely to die by suicide
Mauritania has a suicide rate of 2.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 6.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 69.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Mauritania, 10.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sierra Leone, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 78.6% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Mauritania, 31.8% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, however, that number is 56.8% as of 2018.
make 61.5% less money
Mauritania has a GDP per capita of $2,198 as of 2025, while in Sierra Leone, the GDP per capita is $846 as of 2025.
Life
be 27.5% less likely to be literate
In Mauritania, the literacy rate is 67.0% as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, it is 48.6% as of 2022.
be 80.8% more likely to die during infancy
In Mauritania, approximately 30.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, on the other hand, 54.6 children do as of 2024.
have 11.5% fewer children
In Mauritania, there are approximately 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, there are 30.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 29.4% less likely to have access to electricity
In Mauritania, approximately 50% of people have electricity access (94% in urban areas, and 1% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Sierra Leone, that number is 36% of people on average (56% in urban areas, and 19% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 45.2% less likely to have internet access
In Mauritania, approximately 45.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, about 25.1% do as of 2024.
be 11.9% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Mauritania, approximately 77% of people have access to drinking water (90% in urban areas, and 59% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Sierra Leone, that number is 68% of people on average (82% in urban areas, and 57% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 65.6% less on education
Mauritania spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sierra Leone spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 46.7% less coastline
Mauritania has a total of 754 km of coastline. In Sierra Leone, that number is 402 km.
Safety
be 2.2 times more likely to be murdered
Mauritania has a homicide rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Sierra Leone, that number is 2.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 45.3% more likely to die in a road accident
In Mauritania, road accidents kill 9.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sierra Leone, they kill 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 96.2% less strain on fresh water
Mauritania withdraws 13% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sierra Leone withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 82.5% less CO2
Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sierra Leone emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 56.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Mauritania, air pollution causes 62.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sierra Leone, it causes 97.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), The World Factbook (2021–2022), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Mauritania vs. Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: At a glance
How big is Sierra Leone compared to Mauritania? See an in-depth size comparison.